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With tons of help from Allie Grasgreen, Maggie Severns, Nirvi Shah and Stephanie Simon

TEACHER TRAINING GETS TOUGH REVIEWS: Teacher colleges aren’t happy about a new report released by the National Council on Teacher Quality. According to the findings, hundreds of universities have abysmal teacher training programs and alternative certification programs are even worse. Too many programs are enrolling weak students and aren’t instructing them on the basics, like maintaining discipline or using research-based strategies to teach reading. But the news isn’t all bad. Delaware, Rhode Island and Connecticut have boosted standards, making it tougher to get into training programs or get a license. The release of the report is timely, with Education Secretary Arne Duncan recently resurrecting an effort to regulate teacher training programs across the country. Stephanie Simon reports: http://politico.pro/1ybT4AV.

— NCTQ’s top performers include Miami University of Ohio, Arizona State University, CUNY-Hunter and Western Governors University, an online program. But nearly three-quarters of all alternative certification programs received grades of F or D, including many for-profit, quick-turnaround teacher prep classes in Texas.

— NCTQ apologizes in the report for not always acting “with sufficient sensitivity” as it pursued information on programs, and the new report attempts to ease some of the tension by pointing out areas of agreement between the NCTQ and most colleges of education, but it's unclear whether that will placate critics.

VOUCHER SCUFFLE FLARES AGAIN: When the Department of Justice first sought to block, then to scrutinize, Louisiana’s voucher program, Gov. Bobby Jindal turned it into a cause celebre, accusing President Barack Obama of trying to squelch the hopes and dreams of poor minority children. Now, DOJ is seeking detailed information about participants in Wisconsin’s three voucher programs — and conservatives there are up in arms. Last week, the state Department of Public Instruction sent all private schools participating in the voucher programs a request for information on students with disabilities, telling them the DOJ had requested the information. The state made clear schools didn’t have to answer — but that didn’t placate CJ Szafir, education policy director for the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, a nonprofit law firm.

— “We have seen this playbook before,” Szafir said. “As they showed us in Louisiana, the Justice Department will go to extreme lengths to interfere with the process of parents using state-funded vouchers to choose what school is best for their children.” The DOJ declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation. Stephanie Simon has more for Pros: http://politico.pro/UHFia6

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WIOA CREEPING THROUGH HOTLINE PROCESS: Since introducing a bicameral, bipartisan update to workforce law, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, lawmakers have been working to clear a path forward for the bill in the Senate. Last week was “a week of drama” as they weeded out objections to the bill, one lobbyist said. Two amendments from Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio are among the last hurdles standing between the bill and the Senate floor, according to aides. Portman’s amendments look like small, wonky changes — but some worry they could prove divisive and derail WIOA from moving forward. Maggie Severns has more: http://politico.pro/1pazbpK.

TAR HEEL STATE TACKLES TEACHER PAY: In North Carolina, teacher pay is so low that educators are turning out for job fairs hosted by other states with the promise of higher salaries [http://bit.ly/1lJQ1e2] elsewhere. And the Tar Heel State ranks near the bottom — at 46th in the country — when it comes to teachers’ salaries. Meg Wiehe, director of state tax policy at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, told Morning Education those issues are at the heart of two proposals coming out of the state legislature. To pay for teacher pay increases, the state senate proposed asking teachers to give up their tenure rights, asking state residents to voluntarily return their state tax refunds and firing teaching assistants to save money. The state house’s idea would pay for increases through extra state lottery revenue generated by increased spending on lottery advertising. Both chambers will try to come to a compromise in the coming days with the start of the fiscal year looming on July 1.

— It’s a hot issue given the state’s backdrop, Wiehe said. Teachers’ paychecks haven’t seen a boost since 2008. In mid-May, a state judge ruled [http://politico.pro/1sjpLMh] that a law phasing out teacher tenure in exchange for pay raises was unconstitutional. (Wiehe said she can’t see how the state senate’s proposal is any different than what the court struck down.) And lawmakers passed a massive tax reform package [http://bit.ly/1iCcx3I] last summer, which some think will lead to revenue shortfalls and less money for teachers’ salaries.

DFER RALLIES DONORS: Democrats for Education Reform has a long track record of rallying major donors to back reform candidates with big dollars. Today, it launches a new hub aimed soliciting smaller donations from the general public. The group touts its website as “your home base for identifying and supporting the right campaigns and candidates that put America’s kids first.” So far it’s plugging a handful of congressional candidates, including Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu, Delaware Sen. Chris Coons and Reps. Bobby Scott, Jim Clyburn and Susan Davis. But officials say they plan to fill out the site with reformers running at all levels of government, from local school board on up. Check it out here: https://dferlist.org.

PROMOTING DIGITAL LEARNING: The Aspen Institute is out today with a report on digital learning that calls for rethinking the federal laws that govern student privacy, including FERPA and COPPA. The task force, co-chaired by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, takes particular aim at COPPA, which blocks websites from collecting personal information on children under 13. The report says that restriction doesn’t have any scientific basis behind it and serves mostly to prevent younger children from using useful educational sites. In general, it advocates retooling laws to enhance opportunities for online learning, rather than simply restricting access. Read it here: http://politico.pro/1oYE8lq.

ED TECH LEADERS URGE EXPEDITED E-RATE REFORM: More than 100 CEOs and leaders from education technology companies sent FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler a letter today urging swift action on E-Rate modernization. The letter comes as Wheeler is expected to circulate his proposal for revamping the program among his fellow commissioners this week. They’re calling for several considerations: More focus on broadband connectivity and infrastructure; ensuring every school gets connected to fiber and every classroom to Wi-Fi; improving broadband affordability by maximizing competition and options; and collecting and releasing data about existing network infrastructure and how E-Rate funds are being spent. The letter: http://politico.pro/1qkt440.

FAST-TRACK TECH DEGREE: It’s not affiliated with any university, but AT&T and Udacity’s new one-year online certification program, called NanoDegree, will qualify workers for paid internships and entry-level jobs at the telecommunications company. Starting this fall, AT&T will “provide direction” on the content of technology MOOCs, with the first focusing on software development. Udacity will manage the program and provide coaching and career services. Students can expect to pay about $200 a month for the program. New NanoDegrees from other companies are being developed “in the coming months.” More: http://soc.att.com/1pBY4fV.

RATING TAX CREDIT VOUCHER PROGRAMS: Which of the 14 states with tax credit scholarship programs have the best one? Arizona and Florida, according to a new report card from the Center for Education Reform. The more donors eligible to participate, the more students eligible to receive scholarships and the more entities allowed to provide schooling choices mean higher grades. (These might be the very things that would earn programs poor grades from private school voucher opponents.) Both programs are set to automatically expand and Arizona’s program is open to students regardless of their family’s income Those criteria earned Alabama an F and Kansas and Rhode Island’s programs D grades. Nationwide, CER says, tax credit voucher programs pay tuition for about 190,000 students. The full report card: http://bit.ly/U4Qq0f.

— Meanwhile, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday essentially ruled out considering education tax credits in his state this legislative session, at the same time advocates have launched ads touting them. More from Capital New York: http://bit.ly/1vtZ0D2.

PROPOSALS FOR QUALITY PRE-K: The National Governors Association released guidelines Monday for creating strong state-federal partnerships when it comes to developing high-quality early education systems. The recommendations come even though congressional legislation to expand access to high-quality education remains stalled in Congress. NGA says governors need to take the lead in their states and the federal government needs to recognize existing investments while maximizing flexibility. More: http://bit.ly/1vvGutV

SYLLABUS

— Efforts to inspire students in the STEM fields have borne little fruit. The New York Times: http://nyti.ms/1pb5qTW

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